I've had my Antec 1200 for a few years now. Started having weird issues with my computer, didn't know why. Today I ripped it apart, and found 3 seized fans... oops. After much contact cleaner, and many squirts of sewing machine oil, I got all fans operational again. Dropped my old i7 into the 30s at idle with my oc, and my 480 is hovering at 40. Haven't put the panels back on yet, I expect lower temps. I brushed out my case, and all the drive bays as I removed them, left a pile of dust on the floor. Just a heads up!

You can put a lot of stress on the fans on the Antec 1200 if you don't clean out the filters regularly. The filters will create a lot of back pressure when dust starts to build up putting more stress on the motor.

Turns out my gtx260 physx card has a bad fan too... had to remove it until I service that now. Dam. But now my computer is more quiet than I've heard it in years. Really quiet... wow, so that's what it's like!

I constantly tinker with all my stuff, and do weekly maintenance to keep dust down in the room and inside cases, heatsinks, etc so I usually don't have to worry about stuff like this.

It's a good reminder for some people. I know a lot of older folks who don't know that you need to clean your PC. Also know some so called enthusiasts who do not clean their gaming rigs either.

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I don't have the time (or the need) to clean my rig every week. It's more like a monthly occurrence for me. I also have filters all over my case so all I usually have to clean are the filters. I can usually wait half a year to clean out the inside the the case with a monthly clean up of the filters.

I have air filters everywhere and grills, all i have to do is wipe the noticable dust on the outside once every couple of months. Took my graphics cards out to do a routine clean, and they were still clean!

I don't have the time (or the need) to clean my rig every week. It's more like a monthly occurrence for me. I also have filters all over my case so all I usually have to clean are the filters. I can usually wait half a year to clean out the inside the the case with a monthly clean up of the filters.

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Yeah, I don't NEED to clean weekly, but after living with some truly horrible slobs in college I have made it a habit to keep my personal space clean. 15-20 mins isn't much every week for me.

I have my girlfriend clean everything and do laundry. That way, dust don't collect on my computer and I have more time to play WoT. I also hear less complaints from her because she's got something to do

I have my girlfriend clean everything and do laundry. That way, dust don't collect on my computer and I have more time to play WoT. I also hear less complaints from her because she's got something to do

I have my girlfriend clean everything and do laundry. That way, dust don't collect on my computer and I have more time to play WoT. I also hear less complaints from her because she's got something to do

I don't have the time (or the need) to clean my rig every week. It's more like a monthly occurrence for me. I also have filters all over my case so all I usually have to clean are the filters. I can usually wait half a year to clean out the inside the the case with a monthly clean up of the filters.

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I'm elbow-deep in my pc at least once a week tinkering with something. When doing that, I do a visual inspection of everything inside. With the monthly cleaning I give my filters, I haven't had to actually clean my PC since building it. I do, however, brush a little visible dust off of components here and there. Aside from that, I have not had to disassemble the computer and give it a thorough cleaning, my chipset fan and GPU fans are all free of dust.
Filters are a lifesaver!

I use non-detergent 30W motor oil on my fans if the bearings run dry. I've had remnants of a quart of it for years after using most of it on electric air compressor motors. I don't take them apart unless they have slowed down or make noise, as it's damn near impossible to seal them back up unless you use something like strips of Scotch lint roller sheets (really sticky) or duct tape. Note that some fans have atypical bearings that may not be serviceable, e.g. the old Cooler Master Rifle Bearing fans I had circa 2004.

I use non-detergent 30W motor oil on my fans if the bearings run dry. I've had remnants of a quart of it for years after using most of it on electric air compressor motors. I don't take them apart unless they have slowed down or make noise, as it's damn near impossible to seal them back up unless you use something like strips of Scotch lint roller sheets (really sticky) or duct tape. Note that some fans have atypical bearings that may not be serviceable, e.g. the old Cooler Master Rifle Bearing fans I had circa 2004.

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Interesting. All I've got easily available are cooking oils and WD-40. I wonder if anyone did a test on various lubricants for fans: WD-40, various types of cooking oils, various grades of motor oils (SAE 60, anyone?), or even KY Jelly. Something like what Hardware Secrets does for thermal compounds.